Christmas Eve busy time for churches across America

At the nondenominational, multi-campus Faith Church in Missouri, Christmas Eve will be the culmination of a long weekend of creative celebration focused on family, Christ and saving souls.

“Each service is another opportunity to save someone’s life, another soul. It’s having a chance on Christmas Eve to say ‘hey, here’s the reason to invite someone who wouldn’t have come to a weekend service,” Jaylen Bledsoe, director of marketing and expansion explained in a recent interview with The Christian Post.

The 14-year-old church, led by Pastor David Crank and wife Nicole, welcomes several thousand worshipers across multiple campuses in Missouri and Florida weekly and on Christmas Eve, at least six services will be hosted collectively to accommodate the throngs seeking to pay homage to the Savior’s birth this year.

“There’s no better way to spend Christmas Eve than with your Faith Family! Bring your friends and relatives and enjoy a beautiful Christmas Eve Service at all Campuses. We’ll make them feel right at home! Expect joyful WORSHIP, an inspiring MESSAGE, and intimate candlelit COMMUNION,” the church announced on its website.

Explaining the multiple services, Bledsoe said that at Faith Church, they work hard to ensure everyone that wants a seat in a service can find one.

“We design our experiences so we run more than one, our services [are designed] so it is never packed to the brim. So we’ll always keep increasing the number of services … and it’s comfortable for those that are there,” he said.

“Ultimately, we design it so that if it’s someone’s first time, they don’t feel out of place. If it is too packed and you can’t find a seat it ruins the experience for someone coming in.”

While not every church will be hosting special Christmas Eve services this year, Dr. Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, says the Christmas Eve service is growing in importance among churches because it is the day, more than any other, that non-Christians prefer coming to church.

“Non-Christians are more likely to come to worship services on Christmas Eve than any other day of the year, including Easter. Church leaders get it. They are putting more prayer, preparation, and strategic thinking into the services,” Rainier wrote recently. “Anecdotally, they seem to be more receptive each year.”

And at Faith Church where Christmas Eve services are the biggest draw behind Easter, Bledsoe said the whole staff gets it.

“We have an amazing team. Their entire life here is how do we make the weekend engaging for someone who’s coming for the first time,” he said.

Ahead of hallowing the birth of Christ in its Christmas Eve service, Faith Church, which has attracted members from various Christian denominations, works hard to get the whole community in the Christmas spirit with two major events. One is a Christmas production held at its Sunset Hills campus over four days.

“Each one of our buildings is packed out [for this event]. It’s a full Broadway-style production where we invite more than just members. That’s kind of our big community outreach for the season,” Bledsoe said.

The other event is Faith Church’s showing of the 2004 comedy “Christmas with the Kranks,” starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, about a couple who decide to skip Christmas one year.

The church shows the movie in segments and their pastor speaks in between the segments on themes from the movie.

“For both of those our full team gets involved. How do we create something new for that person who is coming in for the first time to get a really great experience,” Bledsoe said of his church’s approach to Christmas, “to not only come and experience a word but to be opened up beyond what they may expect the church to be. A lot of our members surprisingly are coming out of the Catholic Church or the Presbyterian Church or another church and so it’s sometimes their first experience at a church like Faith Church which invites everyone to sit in our seats across all our campuses and be a part of one big family.”

At Pastor Craig Groeschel’s Life.Church, which has locations spread across 10 states, a total of 265 Christmas services will be held across 32 physical locations that began Friday, Dec. 21, through Christmas Eve. Life.Church will also host an additional 131 Christmas services throughout the week at Church Online and across various social media platforms.

Bobby Gruenewald, a pastor and innovation leader at Life.Church, said their data suggests that people are more inclined to accept an invitation to church during the Christmas season.

“We often say that people are more likely to accept an invitation to church during the Christmas season, more than any other time throughout the year. And our data reflects that. For the past five years, we’ve averaged a 70 percent increase in Christmas weekend attendance compared to our average weekly attendance the rest of the year,” he told CP.

This year, the church has added multiple service times to meet the growing demand.

“We’ve added a total of 87 service times across our 32 physical locations to ensure there’s room for everyone who wants to attend one of our Christmas services. We’ve also added 47 Church Online Christmas services to give people in different time zones around the world even more chances to attend a service this Christmas,” he noted.

The church has also prepared thousands of volunteers across their physical locations and Church Online to help welcome guests to each Christmas service.

“We’re constantly inspired by our volunteers’ passion to reach more people for Christ. Over the past 22 years, God has continually exceeded our expectations, so we’re just excited to witness and be a part of what He will do in people’s lives this Christmas,” Gruenewald said.

Upcoming Events

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October 26 (Friday) - March 10 (Sunday)

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Nelson-Atkins

4525 Oak Street, Kansas City, MO

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The exhibition aims to re-create the ambiance and capture the spirit that prevailed in the French court during the Empire. A selection of works, most of which have never before been exhibited in North America, will reveal the power and splendor of the Imperial Household and its role in fashioning a monarchic identity for the new emperor, his family and loyal entourage.

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If you are new to homeschooling, a well-seasoned veteran, or still on the fence trying to decide what direction is best for your family, we would love to have you join us for an information meeting. We have programs available starting at four years of age through high school. At the information meeting, we will be sharing with you about the Christian, classical, and community model that is Classical Conversations. There will be plenty of time for you to ask any questions you might have and also an opportunity to look through some of the curricula we use. Please come join us no matter your level of interest. We would love the opportunity to share with you what has been such a great blessing to our own families. Please RSVP via through the website under the events tab. It is okay to RSVP even if it’s an hour before the meeting. When you RSVP we’ll give you directions on where to enter the building. See you soon!

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200 NE Tudor Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64086

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We are using material based on the Christian 12 Steps; Serenity Prayer also Anxiety Centre
http://www.anxietycentre.com/
also "The Anxiety/Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne.

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Fear-Not is a Christ-Centered Support Group for Anxiety and Depression.
We are using material based on the Christian 12 Steps; Serenity Prayer also Anxiety Centre

http://www.anxietycentre.com/

also “The Anxiety/Phobia Workbook” by Edmund Bourne. (probably find at the library or on sale online) We have a Yahoo Group (link below) you can join…there is a lot of information in the folders on stress and anxiety… Group home page:

Just stay calm….you are not losing your mind…you are just under a lot of stress….so no big surprise that you are having an emotional reaction that seems very strong….your body is sending you a message “I am on overload”…warning, warning be wise and heed the warning. I was in the deepest miry pit imaginable…and if the Lord can bring me out, I know He can also help others who are struggling.

We meet on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 pm each week. Email fear-not@att.net for more information.

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Amidst a culture shifting like the tide, it is imperative that students are ready to defend “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

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An additional concert with nobigdyl. will be held on January 25. Concert tickets are included in conference registration or can be purchased separately.

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Come for a quiet, relaxing day of encouragement in the middle of the school year! These special retreats are open for all homeschool moms (or those interested in homeschooling). Light breakfast refreshments, hot drinks, and a beautiful, delicious catered lunch will indulge you as you glean wisdom from God’s word through speaker sessions and visiting with other homeschool moms. The Midwest Parent Educators (MPE) homeschool organization is hosting the annual Women’s Encouragement Day

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Join Jackson County Historical Society on Holocaust Remembrance Day for a screening of Big Sonia.
Standing tall at 4’8″, Sonia is one of the last remaining Holocaust survivors in Kansas City

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Join Jackson County Historical Society on Holocaust Remembrance Day for a screening of Big Sonia.

Standing tall at 4’8″, Sonia is one of the last remaining Holocaust survivors in Kansas City and one of the only survivors there who speaks publicly about her wartime experience. Sonia’s enormous personality and fragile frame mask the horrors she endured. At 15 she watched her mother disappear behind gas chamber doors. Sonia’s teenage years were a blur of concentration camps and death marches. On liberation day, she was accidentally shot through the chest, yet again miraculously survived. Sonia is the ultimate survivor, a bridge between cultures and generations. Her story must never be forgotten.